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scale

A chosen set of notes defined by a pattern of steps, repeating every octave.

A chosen set of notes, defined by a pattern of steps and repeating every octave. The major scale is the most common pattern; the pentatonic and the minor scales are others. Pick a scale and you have picked the palette a piece paints from.

Learn it: The major scale

The one-sentence definition at the top is the same one the Theory Aide extension shows as a tooltip inside Ableton Live. Hover any dotted term for its own.